Wednesday

AMAZULU head coach Cavin Johnson says the target he has set himself at the club is to win as many matches as he can.

So far Usuthu have registered two wins in their return to the Absa Premiership after a two year absence.

They have played six matches, drawing two and losing another two.

Johnson said the team was on the right track considering the fact that he didn’t have a pre-season with the players.

Said Johnson: “Look, we joined the team a few days before the season began.

“We didn’t have time to work properly with the players and had to work with what we have.

“I didn’t even get a chance to bring in my own players. But having said that, the team has done well in those opening matches and I believe we are going to do even better in the coming matches.”

In his last match before the Fifa break, the former Platinum Stars mentor got a point at home playing Dikwena.

He said he came to KZN to build the Usuthu brand, and picking up points in difficult situations is the way go.

“The mandate I’ve set myself when I joined the club was to make sure I win as many matches as I can. Whatever mandate the team has given me will be thrown out of the window if I continue collecting points in any situation. I think we’ve done fairly well so far, considering that lots of people didn’t give us a chance.

“I heard that we would be relegation candidates this season. For me that negative talk is good. I always take negatives and turn it to positives. Talk like that only encourages me to work even harder for AmaZulu,” said Johnson.

The former SuperSport United coach also touched on his injured players.

He said his captain Tapelo Nyongo was out of hospital following a kidney injury after colliding with Dikwena skipper Vuyo Mere, and that Nyongo could be out for more than a month.

He added that full back Thembela Sikhakhane and winger Ovidy Karuru would be out for four to five weeks with ankle injuries.

The trio will miss their next match against Polokwane City in two weeks’ time.